Plans to reopen campus

Dear UAH Faculty, Staff, and Students,

As we wrap up this academic year, our focus is increasingly turning toward the fall semester and meeting our goal of a return to on-campus activities. Many have indicated a strong desire to get back on our campus to continue learning, teaching, research and discovery. Our return to campus can happen only if we remain vigilant and continue best practices to keep our community safe.

In all likelihood, our return to a new normal is going to happen in phases starting over the summer. To this end, the University of Alabama (UA) System has created a System-Wide Task Force to consider strategies of all kinds: testing measures, enhanced cleaning, classroom procedures, housing policies, security and wellness programs, and more. With knowledge and guidance from the scientists, doctors, researchers and numerous higher education experts from the three UA campuses, we are developing comprehensive plans to reopen our campus in the fall. We will share details of our plans soon but know that every decision will be guided by the science and data behind the pandemic and with the safety of our students, employees and communities foremost in mind.

To our students, congratulations for finishing the year strong during this unprecedented situation. We also greatly appreciate our faculty, staff, and friends who make it possible for us to deliver our research and educational programs to our students. Thank you for a remarkable job of adapting to these challenging times.

During the pandemic, our past success has been built on our concern for each other. Our future success will rely on our concern for each other and our collective ability to be collaborative and flexible as we approach the fall semester. I am confident in our collective ability to meet the challenges in front of us.